Lost and Found
by galathorne
Summary: Wounded and defenseless Koragg appears in Rootcore, causing everyone to rethink their opinions about him. Takes place just before 'Dark Wish'. AU
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello everyone and welcome to my first story! There might be some mistakes, mainly grammar, because English isn't my native language. Constructive criticism would be appreciated.

This story takes place just before the beginning of 'Dark Wish'.

Chapter 1

In the deepest bowels of the Underground, Imperious was sitting on his throne and thinking furiously. All of his attempts in getting rid of Koragg were failing. He was a real thorn in his side and, even worse, The Master was supporting him. If Imperious could just convince him that Koragg was... what exactly? He was a powerful warrior and everyone in the Underworld respected him. And of course he fought with "honor", always walking away from unarmed or weak opponents, pretending to be above them all. The Rangers would be dead already if not for his stupidity.

In that moment Imperious got an idea. He stood up and walked towards The Master's pit.

* * *

Koragg jumped back, barely avoiding the hit that was directed at him. Then he charged at his opponent and raised his sword to attack. He swung hard and sliced the training hologram in half. It disappeared in air. It was his favorite training method. The hologram had all of his abilities and helped him discover weak spots in defense.

'Today's training is over,' he decided. It was time to meditate to focus his magic.

Suddenly he felt a presence inside his head. _Come to me, my faithful servant. I wish to see you._

"Of course, my master."

* * *

The main chamber was empty when he got there. Even the hidiacs and Imperious were seemingly gone.

'Something's not right here. Is this another one of that traitor's plans?' he thought, looking around. 'No, that's impossible. The Master called me. He won't allow himself to be tricked by anyone, especially Imperious.'

He approached the pit, which was glowing red. The Master was waiting. Koragg got down on his knees and bowed his head.

_I have heard some disturbing news, Koragg. Imperious seems to think that you are deceiving me. He showed me how you're walking away from defenseless opponents instead of finishing them off. You're even helping them! What do you have to say?_

What? That bastard Imperious, accusing him of being a traitor! 'He shall pay for this,' he vowed. But now he had to convince The Master about his innocence.

"You shouldn't listen to Imperious, my master. He's trying to undermine my position by your side. I'm fighting with honor, so that your rebirth shall be more glorious."

_I don't think so, Koragg. Your feeble attempts at proving your loyalty are only making me angry. I officially declare you a traitor! Come, my servants! Kill the unfaithful scum!_

It was like someone suddenly cancelled an invisibility spell. The hidiacs appeared along with a few Underworld beasts. In front of them stood Imperious himself, wearing a victorious smile.

"Finally I can destroy you, Koragg! I've been waiting so long, but The Master supports me now! You're a danger to all of us. Who knows when will you reveal our secrets to those pesky Rangers? That would be very unfortunate! Hidiacs, attack!" said Imperious, his tone revealing barely restrained laughter.

Hidiacs jumped forward and attacked Koragg, but they were no match for him. He was furiously slashing through the enemies, getting closer and closer to his main target – Imperious, who was still smiling in that infuriating way. Slowly he raised his hand-held fan and pointed it at charging Koragg. A beam of magic erupted from its tip and struck the attacking knight, blasting off one of his wolf-head shaped spaulders. Imperious took aim again and another magic strike hit Koragg on the lower part of his helmet, leaving a gap which revealed his chin and mouth.

That caused Koragg to lose concentration. Imperious used this moment of weakness and threw a particularly nasty curse at him. Pain erupted in knight's left shoulder, which was vulnerable due to loss of spaulder. Moving it caused the pain to worsen. Koragg slowly started to realize that he couldn't win this battle. He was surrounded and heavily outnumbered. Add Imperious to that and you have a recipe for sure death.

He had to find a good place to teleport. Maybe one of those forgotten dimensions could be safe for a while. He started to run away. No one should accidentally fall into his magic circle and follow him. He heard Imperious' voice call after him:

"Running away? Some knight you are, Koragg! Not very honorable, don't you think? But that's as far as you will go!" Koragg didn't pay him any mind. Just a little bit more and he could teleport.

"_Mutra Rotho Os!_" Imperious suddenly chanted.

Spell hit Koragg on thigh and there was so much pain that he screamed in agony. It felt like his bone was being ripped out from body. He fell on the ground. Fortunately he didn't lose consciousness, but everything in front of him was swimming and he wasn't able to think clearly.

He had to teleport quickly. It was his only chance of surviving. He forced himself to chant:

"_Uthe Sastos!_"

A magic circle appeared under him and started to suck him in. Out of nowhere a hidiac stepped on the circle, interfering the spell. Koragg cursed in his head – now he didn't know where he would land. He could see Imperious trying to push aside some hidiacs in vain attempt to stop him from teleporting. The main chamber started to disappear and he allowed himself to sigh in relief. He made it. All of sudden the pain in his thigh intensified and he screamed again. This time he lost consciousness and everything went black.

* * *

The Master was angry, to put it lightly. That incompetent fool Imperious let Koragg escape and nobody knew where he was. But Koragg's behavior was troubling him even more. It didn't look like Leanbow had broken the spell, so why was he betraying him? Was Leanbow's influence so strong? Or maybe the spell _has_ been broken and Leanbow set himself free? 'It doesn't matter now. I gave him that armor and I will be the one to take it from him! He shall never it take off on his own! Let him rot to death!'

The truth was that Koragg's armor's purpose wasn't only to protect him. It was also magically sustaining him. He was never hungry or tired and sleep was something he hasn't experienced. But now, The Master decided, it was time for Koragg to taste the _joys_ of human life.

* * *

"Rootcore is lively today, don't you think?" Daggeron said to Udonna, who was standing beside him and observing the laughing Rangers.

"Sure it is, my friend. But there's something troubling me. I'm not the only one who noticed their laziness lately, am I?" Udonna asked him.

Daggeron grimaced. Yes, the Rangers _were_ acting lazy. Even now, Chip was using his wand to summon pepperoni pizza with chocolate marshmallows and the rest were talking about some decorations for their shop, which have been done by magic, of course.

"I think it's time to teach them a lesson. Hey, you down there!" Daggeron called.

Vida looked up. "What is it, Daggeron? Can't you see we're -"

She didn't get a chance to finish. All of sudden a large dark magic seal appeared above their heads and something purple fell out of it. It landed on the crystal ball with a sickening _crack_ of a bone being broken. The uninvited guest slid off the table and collided with floor. Then he let out an agonized moan and stopped moving.

Everyone had their wands out, but they weren't needed. The figure lying on the floor was clearly unconscious.

Udonna approached him. "That's... unbelievable. What is he doing here? And what happened to him?" These were the questions everyone was asking themselves.

A bleeding, unconscious Koragg was an unusual sight in the Rootcore, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Special thanks for Nagasha for posting the first review! Glad you like the story so far!

Chapter 2

He was floating. Everything was black, but it was a soothing sort of darkness, which made him feel almost... safe. But there was something he was forgetting. What was it? He tried to remember. Only memories of pain were fresh in his mind. Everything else seemed tangled to the point it was just a mass of colors, sounds and smells. He gave up. He would just wait for this darkness to disappear.

What Koragg didn't know was the simple fact that he was unconscious.

* * *

The Rangers surrounded Koragg's prone form lying on the floor. He was badly injured; pieces of armor were missing and his left shoulder seemed to be dislocated. But his right thigh looked the worst of all – it was a giant, gaping wound, constantly bleeding and showing off bone.

Xander couldn't bear to look at it. He hated blood – its smell made him want to throw up. And that's what he did.

"Argh! Xander, get a grip!" shouted Madison. "Let's get you out of here..." She took him by the arm and together they left Rootcore.

Nick looked after them. "Really? Xander can't stand a bit of blood? That's some good blackmail material."

"Focus, everyone! There's no time for joking. We must help Koragg. He surely has some valuable information we can use to our advantage," said Daggeron.

"And what makes you think he would tell us anything? I mean, he's our enemy. He could just lie to us," Chip told him.

Udonna decided to step in. "Stop chatting and help me. I have to heal him first. Then we can think about what to do with him. Clare, do we have basic healing potions?" she asked her apprentice.

Clare approached the potions shelf and looked at its contents. "Umm... only Bleeding Stopping Potion is good. We're short on Blood Replenishing Elixir and Pain Reducer isn't fresh enough. Do you want me to make some?"

'Bad idea,' everyone thought and it must have showed on their faces, because Clare said:

"Okay, I know I'm horrible at brewing potions. So maybe I can set up a room for him?"

"Very well. Rangers, you can help her. Daggeron, you will assist me. I must brew those potions after healing him," said Udonna in her no-nonsense tone. "Off you go!"

Then she crouched beside Koragg and cast a spell which would inform her about his injuries. The results were bad. Dislocated left shoulder and broken bone in the right forearm. And the worst off all, right thigh bone. It wasn't broken - it has been ripped out of body, _rotated_ and put back in. One of the most gruesome curses invented in the Great War, _Mutra Rotho Os. _She had to deal with its victims during her apprenticeship and she knew that recovering from it was long and painful. She couldn't imagine being hit with this curse. Sympathy swelled within her, even though Koragg was an enemy. She shook her head. This wasn't time for getting emotional. She had to disinfect the wound. Disinfectant appeared with a wave of her wand. She unstoppered the glass vial.

"This is going to hurt," she said to herself.

Udonna soaked a gauze with vial's contents and began to cleanse the wound. Just as she predicted, Koragg let out a pained howl and started shaking. She ignored this and continued working. When the wound was clean, she took the Bleeding Stopping Potion from potions shelf and spelled it right into his stomach. They didn't want Koragg to bleed out, after all. After that a bandage roll magically wrapped itself around the injured thigh. This had to do for now. Udonna turned to Daggeron.

"Will you help me take him to the room Clare and Rangers set up for him?"

He simply nodded. Together they cast a levitation spell and lifted Koragg's lifeless body from the floor.

* * *

"When is he going to wake up?"

Vida gave Chip an irritated look. That was the third time he asked in the past hour. Of course he was just voicing their thoughts, but it didn't make it less annoying.

Nick, Madison and Xander returned to the human world after helping setting up Koragg's room (Koragg's room, it still sounded weird to her), because it was their shift in Rock Porium. She and Chip stayed in Rootcore and occasionally went to gather some ingredients for the potions Udonna and Daggeron were brewing. After a while Clare joined them too. Right now they were just sitting and being bored out of their minds. She wanted to go home, but they had to be on 'Koragg Watch', as Chip named it. Basically they just had to check in on the Wolf Knight once in a while and see if he's awake.

Suddenly the crystal ball darkened and showed Imperious, along with a few hidiacs. It seemed that they were looking for something.

"Come, Rangers, I think we have something to talk about!" Imperious' voice came from the ball.

Chip whooped. "Finally we get to kick some ass! Let's go, V!"

"You don't have to tell me that! Udonna, Daggeron, we're leaving! Imperious appeared and is looking for something."

They didn't even look up from their potions. "Fine, go, just be alert! Don't let him trick you!" Daggeron warned them.

"We'll be fine, don't worry!"

* * *

When they found Imperious, the rest of team was already there. They weren't fighting, which was odd.

"Hey guys, what's going on here?" Chip asked them.

Madison turned to him. "We don't know. Imperious wanted to wait until you came. He told us nothing more."

Nick stepped forward. He wanted to get this over with. "Now that everyone is here, it's time for you to tell us what you want."

"Oh, you see, I have a little problem with Koragg. It turned out that he was a traitor, but he managed to escape from his punishment. I know that he's your enemy too, so we could join our forces and look for him together! It's easier to fight one opponent rather than two, don't you think? That's like killing two birds with one stone! A perfect solution to your problem!" Imperious was quite pleased with his little monologue. If only they believed him...

The Rangers were thinking this over. It _did_ sound like a good idea. The problem was that Imperious couldn't be trusted. He was unpredictable and making cunning plans came to him as easily as breathing.

"We should ask him to give us more time," Xander whispered to the others. "Then we can make a decision. Remember, we have the upper hand there. We know where Koragg is. I think two days would be enough."

"You're right. Finally you have an actually good plan, Xander!" Vida grinned.

The Green Ranger looked offended. "Hey! My plans _are_ good! You just don't appreciate them!"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Now let's go and tell Imperious about our offer."

* * *

"Two days, huh? I think we can come up with some plan until then. But the whole thing about Koragg being a traitor just doesn't seem right. Of course it's the perfect explanation for the state he's in, but he always seemed to be very devoted to The Master," said Daggeron after hearing Rangers' story.

Udonna looked thoughtful. "I suspect there was a power struggle between Koragg and Imperious. Calindor must have done this behind The Master's back."

"Maybe. We'll find out more when our _special guest_ wakes up," Daggeron murmured under his breath.

He and Udonna have just finished brewing the potions when the Rangers returned. Now they were bottling the elixirs. He was tired. Brewing wasn't just throwing ingredients in the cauldron and hoping something will come out of it. Every potion had to be infused with neatly measured portions of magic. It was truly a form of art and he admired Udonna because of her skills. Her movements were always precise and careful. Even now she didn't look as tired as he felt. No wonder Clare's potions always blew up in her face. She didn't have the sort of patience needed to be a potioneer.

Suddenly there was a crash and Clare ran into the room they were in. Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

"He's awake."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Clare and the Rangers did a good job with the room, Udonna decided. All the broken stuff which was kept here before was temporarily pushed to the side. The freed space was occupied by a single, narrow bed taken from the attic. The linens were fresh and clean, although she wasn't sure if Koragg would appreciate the little flowers which were decorating them. The only thing the room lacked was some source of light. It was already getting dark outside, so she had to squint to see clearly. Madison must've noticed this too, because she turned a broken chair leg into a lamp. The room instantly brightened and Udonna heard a strained hiss coming from Koragg.

Madison's brows went up. "I think it's too bright for him." The lamp's light became a bit softer.

"Now, Koragg, are you done complaining? There are some matters to discuss," Nick stated flatly.

Daggeron put a hand on Nick's shoulder. "Take it easy. We must get him to cooperate. Biting his head off will get us nowhere," he whispered urgently.

"Yeah, whatever," Nick grumbled, shaking off his mentor's hand.

* * *

The darkness began to slowly fade away, pain taking its place. His eyes shot open. What was _that_? Confusion clouded Koragg's mind for a moment. It felt like somone took away a part of the day.

But all thoughts about this odd state he found himself in disappeared when he looked around. This wasn't the Underworld nor one of his hidden dimensions. The room wasn't anything special, just some garbage pushed aside and the thing he was lying on. He had to get out of there. He tried to push himself upright.

And immedately regretted it. Pain shot throughout his limbs and weird buzzing filled his head. Koragg gritted his teeth in attempt to quelch the painful scream, letting out a strangled moan instead.

Then the door opened. A blonde head peeked into the room and looked straight at him. He stared back, not knowing what to expect. The girl slowly approached him...

And poked him on the visor.

He wanted to ask her what was she doing, but it came out like this: "Whuthhh 'r ghh dhhinghh?"

She jumped up and run out of the room, slamming the door after herself. He scowled at the unexpectedly noisy sound. The girl looked familiar, but he didn't manage to observe her face properly. And what was all this jumpiness about? Was she afraid of an unarmed, immobilised man?

After a minute or so he heard footsteps. But this time it wasn't just the girl, there were more of them. The door opened again.

The figures were blurring in front of him. It was too dark for him to make out their faces. One of them moved and suddenly blinding light erupted on his left. He hissed with annoyance.

A woman's voice mumbled something and the light became softer. He almost sighed in relief, but it quickly passed when he finally saw his visitors.

The Rangers were looking at him distrusfully.

"Now, Koragg, are you done complaining? There are some matters to discuss," he heard the Red Ranger say. He ignored him.

Solaris was whispering something to the Red Ranger, but he didn't care. His memories were slowly coming back. He remembered his master's call and Imperious' attack. Now he knew how he got here. He was going to find that blasted hidiac and make him pay.

Now he had to focus. 'The Rangers may be strong, but they are too naive. I can escape easily. I just have to wait for my injuries to heal. It won't take long,' he thought, recalling the many times when even the worst wounds healed in matter of hours.

"I don't think you realise how serious your situation is. Imperious is looking for you. I don't know what had happened, but I'm sure you're not welcome in the Underworld," the White Sorceress told him.

So that traitor was looking for him. He knew he would. The woman's words were disturbing, yet true. There was no place for him in the Underworld now. The Master has abandoned him. He felt hopeless. The only purpose in his life was gone. The witch spoke up again:

"Imperious wants us to help him. We have two days to decide what to do, but we want to hear what happened to you first. Your life depends on it, so I suggest you tell us the whole story."

He almost laughed. Has she just _threatned_ him? He will remember that.

His silence was definitely making them annoyed. The Pink and Red were scowling. 'Enough of this,' he decided. If he wanted to stay alive he had to at least pretend to cooperate with them.

The main problem was that it hurt to talk.

Now that he really wanted to tell them his story, this actually became a obstacle. He did this weird sound with his throat and it instantly started to hurt. What was happening? Did Imperious place a curse on him? He never had problems with speaking!

"Does your throat hurt? Do you need some water?" the witch asked.

Water? Why would he need water? And how was it connected to his throat hurting?

"Just nod or shake your head, is that so hard!?" the Red Ranger snapped, clearly irritated.

He gave up and nodded. The Sorceress waved her wand and a glass with water appeared. She took it and walked up to him. Did she want him to drink it? He looked at the Solaris Knight, but he didn't act like this was something unusal. The glass' cold rim touched his lips and he intuitively opened his mouth to take a sip. Cool liquid slid down his throat. It felt like nothing he's ever experienced. The pain lessened to a dull ache. He didn't know that water had such properties. He thought it could be only used as a weapon.

He almost moaned when the glass emptied. The witch set it aside.

"Thank you," he said.

* * *

Did just Koragg thank her? Udonna thought she misheard him. But no, it wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her; the others looked dumbfounded. An uneasy silence settled over them. Even though Koragg's face was mainly covered, she felt he was suprised too. She cleared her throat.

"Can you speak now?"

He nodded, clearly not trusting his voice. After a while he started to speak.

* * *

It all made sense now. Udonna's assumptions were very accurate. Daggeron's thoughts were whirring inside his head. Koragg's betrayal didn't make sense. He was more loyal than anyone else he ever knew. Was this situation a result of Imperious' cunning plan? It seemed so. Koragg said The Master has been somehow tricked by Imperious, but could The Master actually _be_ tricked by anyone? It just didn't sound possible.

He looked at the Rangers. They clearly weren't convinced. His gaze stopped on Madison.

Back when he's seen her for the first time, he decided that she would be the one to break his curse. He didn't know how; he just felt that she was ideal for this. The matters got complicated when he found out she hated frogs. He couldn't believe his luck when she actually kissed him. He was almost obsessed about her since then.

'Stop it, you old pervert! She's too young for you, don't you see it?' he scolded himself. 'Besides, she has eyes for Nick only.' That's why he envied him.

Time stopped for Daggeron for nineteen years. Yes, he still looked young, but his very soul felt old. He would probably fight to gain her love before, but now he knew he wasn't a good choice for her. She needed someone like Nick – the stereotypical 'bad boy' who would make her live her life to its full potential. Daggeron was stuck in past, still thinking about the good, old days of training with Leanbow and chasing after wood fairies.

He should stop staring at her. He turned his eyes to a less beautiful sight – Koragg.

Seeing a part of his face made him uneasy. It was a final proof that he was, in fact, a human, even if he didn't act like one. And what was up with him thanking Udonna? He thought he wouldn't even let her close to him, but here he was, lying there as if nothing happened. He shook his head in puzzlement.

Maybe he shouldn't read too much into his behavior.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Rangers returned to the human world soon after hearing Koragg's story, because it was almost midnight and they had to go to work the next day. This left Udonna, Clare and Daggeron in Rootcore. They set to the task of healing Koragg. First they wanted to deal with lesser injuries, such as dislocated shoulder. Udonna flexed his elbow to 90 degrees and gradually rotated the shoulder outward, allowing it to spontaneously relocate. She was surprised he didn't make a slightest sound. Then she remembered about the potions they've made and sent Clare to fetch them. After she returned, Udonna took the vials from her.

"Koragg," she addressed him. "You need to take those potions. One is the Blood Replenishing Potion, the other is Pain Reducer."

He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but apparently decided against it and simply nodded, allowing her to give him the potions. He twisted his mouth, but she didn't blame him. She knew they were disgusting.

Udonna mentally listed his other injuries and decided to wait until the next day, as it was too late. Daggeron helped her with replacing bandages on Koragg's leg. Then they immobilized his broken forearm.

Daggeron looked at her. "What about his armor? I don't suppose he's comfortable like this."

She nodded. "Yes, let's take it off."

The main problem was that there was nothing keeping the armor in place. All the pieces were connected permanently and seamlessly.

"How do you take off your armor, Koragg?"

"Take off my armor? Why would I ever want to do that? It's a gift from my master," he said haughtily.

Daggeron rolled his eyes. "Yes, your _wonderful_ master who has abandoned you. I don't get why you still speak so highly of him."

Koragg huffed in irritation. "Of course you wouldn't understand, Solaris! My master brought me to life and allowed me to become his right hand. Everything I do is only for his sake."

"You're blind. Can't you see he doesn't have a use for you anymore?"

Udonna decide to step in. "Enough of this nonsense! You're both grown men, but you act like children! We will take care of this tomorrow," she said. "And try to get some sleep, Koragg. The pain shouldn't bother you as much now. Don't attempt to move your leg, because even Pain Reducer won't help you then."

Then she turned off the lamp and left the room, Daggeron and Clare following her.

* * *

"Try to get some sleep"? Only weak humans like her slept! He was Koragg, the Wolf Knight! He wouldn't lower himself to their level. Yes, the thing he was lying on was comfortable and warm, but that didn't mean he was getting sleepy.

Not at all.

He wouldn't sleep unless the witch came here and cast a sleep spell on him.

His resistance lasted a whole ten minutes before his soft snores filled the room.

* * *

Imperious was pacing before his throne. The lack of success in searching for Koragg made him irritated. He couldn't continue with his plan until the Wolf Knight was truly dead. He glanced at The Master's pit. Maybe he could somehow help him. He bowed his head and spoke up.

"My master, is there anything you can do to help me? Our search doesn't produce any results and I don't trust the Rangers."

The pit glowed red.

_Oh, yes, there is a way to find him. I was wondering when would you ask for help. You see, when I created Koragg, I gave him a bit of my own magic. If I take it away from him, I would instantly know his exact location. The whole procedure will be _a little_ painful for him, but I'm sure he won't mind, don't you agree?_

Imperious smirked. "Of course he won't mind, my master. I made sure he's already used to being in pain."

* * *

Udonna's eyes opened sluggishly and she blinked in confusion. A very worried Clare was shaking her shoulder.

"... and I-I can't calm h-him down!" she stuttered.

Udonna was bewildered. "Calm down who?"

And then she heard it – distant screams. Now she understood who needed to be calmed down.

"Oh, I told him not to move... That foolish man..." she muttered and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She put on her robe and grabbed the wand from bedside cabinet.

"Come with me, Clare. I might need your assistance."

* * *

The sight that greeted them was very strange. Koragg was lying perfectly still, but he was howling with pain. So this reaction wasn't caused by him moving in sleep. It was something else.

Udonna cast a diagnostic spell on him. The results chilled her to the bone.

Someone was absorbing Koragg's magic.

When absorption was accepted by person whose magic was being taken, it didn't hurt at all. Unfortunately, in Koragg's case, his magic was absorbed without his permission and caused horrible pain to him. The only one who was able to do this was The Master with all his magical power.

She should've sealed Koragg's magic before, but now it was too late. The only way to stop this process was to put up a barrier and hold it as long as needed. She wasn't sure if she was able to manage it without her Snow Staff. But then she got an idea.

"Clare, give me your hand!" she had to shout in order to be heard over Koragg's rasping howls. "Just channel your magic to me! I'll put a barrier on his magical core!" She got a nod from her and soon she felt Clare's power mixing with hers. Udonna started to sing in ancient mystics' language. The song's words echoed in the air and bright light surrounded Koragg's body, pulsing slightly over his heart. This spell was an example of ancient magic - the most primal kind of magic, used before wands were invented. It was based on emotions, especially the positive ones, so Udonna tried to focus on the compassion she felt when she saw his injuries for the first time. The pull on her magic lessened and it became easier to sing.

But The Master wasn't giving up so easily. Udonna could feel dark magic slashing at the barrier, trying to find weak spots. Even with Clare's help it was impossible to hold him off for long. Soon their magic reserves would be gone.

'Now it's up to you, Koragg. Either you give up and die, or you fight and finally break your ties to The Master. I just hope you choose the latter.'

* * *

'Yes,' The Master thought. 'Their magic is fading. Don't try to resist me, Leanbow. I know you're still in there. You shall never break my curse. And even if you try to, it will get you nowhere. You're not strong enough.'

Koragg put up a weak resistance, but he just laughed. His pitiful attempts were quite amusing. No one could match The Master's might.

Then the unthinkable happened. A powerful magic strike coming from Koragg broke their connection and burned its way to his magical core. Hot, blazing pain erupted from it.

The whole Underworld shook from the force of The Master's fury.

* * *

Everything was blurring in front of Udonna's eyes. Her magic was almost gone. The pounding in her head made her dizzy. She approached Koragg's bed and sat next to it on the floor. She just wanted to make sure he was more or less undamaged. He seemed to be alright.

She heard a thump behind herself. It was probably just Clare passing out, nothing to worry about.

Udonna knew she should get up and go to her bed, but she didn't make a move to stand up. Her head slowly dropped to the edge of Koragg's bed and her eyes slid shut. She instantly fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

His grumbling stomach woke him up. He opened his eyes lazily and looked around. He thought the whole previous day was just a product of his imagination, but now he was certain that it really happened. Pale morning light fell through the window, allowing him to finally see the room clearly.

Two things caught his attention.

The first was that the thing he was lying on was covered in some weird, repeating symbols: a small, yellow circle surrounded by red things coming out of it in all directions and a green, twisting line connecting all the symbols. Maybe these were some runes the witch had put there? Yes, that must have been it. Sleep runes. That's why he fell asleep. There was no other explanation.

The second thing bothering him was currently on his left and breathing deeply. It was the witch herself.

He had always been wondering why did the female humans keep their hair long. It was impractical and surely a pain to manage. But when he looked at the White Sorceress' hair, he immediately understood.

The morning light caught in red wisps, causing them to look as though they were the fire itself. Koragg didn't know much about what humans deemed beautiful, but her hair surely belonged in the 'beautiful' category. He wondered how would it feel like to touch it. He extended his fingers as far as he could and hesitantly touched a stray lock. He was disappointed when he didn't feel anything special. Maybe it was because of the glove he was wearing. Was there a way to remove it?

He remembered his conversation with Solaris last night. He suggested that taking off his armor would make him more comfortable. It was hard to even think of, but maybe he was right.

The witch turned in her sleep and mumbled something. He immediately took his hand away from her. She was still murmuring and he strained to hear her words.

"No... Leanbow... don't go..."

He froze.

Leanbow.

He knew that name. But from where? Was someone in the Underworld called Leanbow? No. There was something important he was forgetting. It felt like there was a barrier in his mind, preventing him from connecting this name to a face. Soon his head started to ache.

This reminded him of something that happened while he was asleep. A pain even worse than the one in his leg. A woman's voice... casting a spell? Yes, definetly a spell, but an odd sounding one, with some kind of rythm. He was sure there was a word for it, but trying to remember it was similar to the mention of mysterious Leanbow – a barrier stopped him from thinking too much about it. It was like this with many things that surrounded him, the simplest example being the thing he was lying on. He knew the purpose it served, but what was it actually called? This obliviousness was scaring him a little.

The thing that really terrified him was the presence of his master he had felt. Usually it comforted him, but in that moment he had just been wishing just wishing for it to go away. He could still hear the words in his mind coaxing him to give up, to let everything go and simply die. For a moment he'd really wanted to do just that, anything to stop the agony. But then a woman's voice had reverberated in his head. 'Now it's up to you.' She had given him a choice. No one did that before. He was always just taking orders either from Morticon or Imperious. It had felt good to be able to decide for himself.

And he'd decided not to give up. He wanted to continue fighting – in the name of honor. The Master didn't matter to him anymore, not when he made himself so clear about wanting to destroy Koragg.

* * *

Sleeping on the floor wasn't her greatest idea, Clare decided. Her whole back was horribly stiff. Slowly she hoisted herself up, cursing at her stupidity. Everything went black for a second and she blindly reached out for something to support her. Her hand met the wall and she sighed in relief. The blackness has finally subsided.

She saw Udonna sleeping with her head on Koragg's bed. 'I should probably wake her up,' Clare mused. She walked up to her mentor and gently shook her shoulder.

"Psst! Wake up, Udonna! You shouldn't sleep he-"

Clare gasped when Udonna suddenly snapped her head up. She looked around the room as if searching for something and finally noticed her apprentice.

"Oh, Clare, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. What time is it?"

"I don't know, I've just woken up myself. Probably it's somewhere around 6 o'clock," she answered. "Uhh, how did it go last night? I don't remember a thing."

Udonna rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I'm not entirely sure. There was this moment when I thought all was lost, but then all of sudden the connection between The Master and Koragg broke. I have no idea what caused this to happen."

A loud rumble coming from Koragg's direction caught their attention.

"So you're awake too? And quite hungry, from what I hear. I'll tell Daggeron to bring you something to eat. He's probably up anyway," Udonna said. "I would have done this myself, but I don't think I would have made it to your room."

As usual, Koragg didn't respond. Clare found it quite odd that he was so silent. Was he even awake?

Udonna interrupted her thoughts. "Let's go and have some rest, Clare. You look like you're going to fall asleep any moment."

Together they left Koragg's room.

* * *

The White Sorceress has finally gone insane. Did she just imply that Koragg was _hungry_? How could it be? He's never been hungry before. And the rumbling in his stomach? Nothing to worry about. Definitely not a sign of him being hungry.

'I should try to get up,' he thought. 'My body must have healed by now.'

He experimentally moved his right leg and a blinding pain shot through it. He let out a strangled moan. The world stopped for a moment when Koragg's vision darkened. His sharp intakes of air broke through the silence of the room.

"We leave you for a moment and you're already doing something stupid. You should at least listen to what Udonna has told you," Solaris' voice came out of nowhere.

Everything suddenly became clear for Koragg. Of course! It had to be their fault! They put something in these potions and now he's as weak as any human! They wanted him to think he needed their help. Dishonorable bastards! Anger filled him and he grit out:

"What have you done to me?"

Solaris had the nerve to look surprised. "Other than offering you a safe place to stay?"

Koragg grit his teeth. "Don't play your games with me! You, the witch and her _servant – _all of you just try to weaken me, to make a vulnerable human out of me!"

The other man frowned, getting angry himself. "First of all, Clare is _not_ a servant. And as to your second accusation: you are an ungrateful man if you think we're doing anything to worsen your condition. Actually, Udonna and Clare were up the whole night trying to prevent The Master from stealing your magic! Stop being so goddamn haughty and finally appreciate our help!" Solaris conjured a table and set a bowl on it. "Here's your food. I don't care how you're going to eat it."

Then he turned on his feet and marched straight to the door. "Have _fun_, Koragg," he snapped before leaving the room.

* * *

Rock Porium wasn't very crowded around 9 a.m., so the Rangers had some time for themselves. Vida was listening to a new song one customer has shown her and Madison was arranging albums on shelves. Chip and Xander were playing a game, but Nick didn't care what it was. He still couldn't get over the fact that Koragg was in Rootcore. In his opinion the bastard deserved to die a very painful death. He'd lost count of how many times has the Wolf Knight defeated him. It was humiliating. Why did Udonna want to help him?

Apart from that, something strange happened last night. He couldn't get any sleep because of the strange magical bursts he'd felt. He was planning to make a visit to Rootcore and ask Daggeron about this. It could be important, after all.

Then there was the problem of Imperious. What was he supposed to do? Should he trust him? It was just too much to think about.

"What's on your mind, Nick?" came a question from behind him. He turned around and saw smiling Madison, her arms full of vinyl discs.

"Here, let me take this," he said and took the discs from her.

She crossed her arms and looked at him sternly. "Don't try to avoid my question. I can see something's bothering you. Just tell me."

Nick put the discs away and wondered how much could he tell her. Better make it simple. "I just don't like that we're helping Koragg. He should solve his problems on his own. I don't care what happens to him."

"I used to think the same, but... I suppose it's the right thing to do, you know? He's a human, just like we are, and no one deserves to be in so much pain," Maddie answered, her smile a bit sad.

"Whatever you say."

Madison sighed. Nick could be so stubborn at times. "Just don't give up on him yet, okay?"

He scowled. "And why do you care about him? He's our enemy! Don't you remember how many times has he tried to kill us all?"

Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder. A voice whispered in his ear:

"I hope you're not threatening my sister, Nick."

He glared at Vida and shook off her hand. Then he turned to Madison.

"Go ahead and keep justifying him! Just don't come crying to me after he's killed somebody!"

He stormed off to the office.

"What's gotten into him, sis?"

Madison shook her head. "Don't ask."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The sun was high in the sky when Uddona woke up. She still felt groggy after spending the night sleeping on the floor. A cold, invigorating shower was something she desperately needed.

The shower has successfully managed to make her feel like herself again. She dressed quickly and went to the kitchen to make some sandwiches. 'Maybe Daggeron would like to eat something too,' she mused and decided to look for him.

She found him training outside Rootcore. His whole posture radiated anger. The sword cut through the air with a _swish, _again and again. Little beads of sweat ran down Daggeron's face, but he didn't seem to notice. He was looking straight ahead, his gaze focused on one point. Udonna carefully walked up to him.

"Why are you so angry, my friend? Did something happen?"

The sword stopped, but Daggeron didn't look at her. "Koragg happened." He dropped his weapon on the ground and glared at it."The bastard doesn't deserve our help. Can you guess what he said to me today?"

At Udonna's questioning look he said: "He thinks that we're weakening him on purpose! And he called Clare your _servant_!"

For some unfathomable reason a wave of disappointment washed through her. Daggeron must have noticed it, because he looked her in the eye and said:

"I know how much you believed in him, but let's get real. He doesn't even think he's human. He'll probably run away as soon as he gets better and we'll be enemies again. There's no hope for him."

But Udonna just shook her head."I'm going to see him and find out myself."

* * *

Koragg stared at the contents of the bowl. The white mush seemed to laugh at his helplessness.

His stomach rumbled. He really wanted to simply grab the bowl and eat whatever was inside, but that bastard Solaris left it here just to annoy him. There was no way Koragg could reach it, so he was just lying there and staring at the damned bowl.

Solaris' words were still echoing through his mind. At least now he knew who was this mysterious woman speaking to him last night. He couldn't believe the White Sorceress was able to hold off The Master himself. But it was just that – she still wasn't powerful enough to prevent his magic from being taken away. It was a huge blow for him. If he'd felt helpless before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. Not being able to move was horrible enough, but this? This was much worse.

Suddenly the door opened and the witch entered his room. She brought these disgusting potions with her, but this time he knew what they were supposed to do. There was no way he was going to drink them.

She looked at the untouched bowl on the table.

"Why didn't you eat anything? Being hungry isn't going to help you in your recovery."

His anger sparked to life. "And how do you think I could have eaten this? I can't even _touch_ the damn bowl! Go and ask Solaris, I'm sure he'll tell you how he left this here and walked away!"

The witch sighed. "I'm sorry for him. Now, this porridge is probably cold already. Let me see if I can heat it up a little..."

She took her wand and pointed it at the bowl. "_Fovere_!"

A cloud of steam rose from the bowl and the White Sorceress smiled a little. "I've always had problems with fire-class spells, but I think luck is with me today."

Then she levitated the bowl in front of him and put some weird, silver object in his left hand. He lifted it up and examined it. It had a handle and a small shallow and oval bowl at the end.

"What is this called?" he surprised himself by asking.

She looked stunned. "Is this the first time you've seen a spoon? How could it be?"

So this thing was called a 'spoon'. He ignored her barrage of questions and asked:

"And what purpose does it serve?"

The witch had the nerve to look amused now. "You eat with it. I don't suppose I have to show you how to use it?"

Her apparent amusement irked him to no end. For a moment he wondered what would she do if he threw a bit of this white mush at her, but he decided not to do it.

He lifted the spoon again and used the end with bowl to take some of the porridge. Then he put it in his mouth. It was one of the weirdest moments in his life. The only things he tasted before were water and the vile potions from the witch, but this... this felt more _solid_. The taste was bland, but not bad at all. Suddenly his stomach reminded him that he was hungry, so he gulped down the food and took some more. If this was a part of being a human, then he could live with it.

* * *

It was a long time since Udonna has been trying so hard not to laugh. The mighty Wolf Knight not knowing what a _spoon_ is? Koragg's questions were just so _funny_ compared to his overall appearance! No wonder he was acting so strange. She wondered what other things were unknown to him.

Right now he was scoffing down the porridge. It wasn't surprising, considering that he's probably never eaten anything in his life. Still, it was an amusing sight.

Soon the bowl was empty. She took it from him and set it aside. Now it was time for more serious matters. He had to take the potions, but according to Daggeron, Koragg thought she was poisoning him. She steeled herself and said:

"You must take the potions, Koragg. Soon the pain in your leg will become worse, if it already hasn't, and you're still recovering from the blood loss."

He scowled ferociously. "Over my dead body, witch! You're just trying to make me weak, I know that!"

Just as she thought. Koragg won't change his mind easily. It was time for a more drastic approach. "Listen to me. I could have spelled these potions directly inside your stomach, but I want you to understand that I'm not trying to harm you. We can do an experiment. I won't force you to take them now. We'll wait an hour and see how you feel. I assure you that it won't be nice."

"Don't count on anything." Apparently, Koragg was unfazed, but Udonna was sure the pain in his leg was getting worse every minute. 'Men and their stupid pride. He's very much like Daggeron in this.'

"Very well. I'll make sure nobody enters your room for the next hour." She walked to the door and left the room.

* * *

Udonna decided to make the best of the time she had. She would probably take care of the curse's side effects on Koragg's leg when he's finally taken the potions. Unfortunately, the last time she's dealt with its victims was around nineteen years ago, in the aftermath of the Great Battle. Some details have slipped from her mind since then.

She began to look through the vast collection of books. Udonna has always loved reading, no matter what it was. That's what gotten her fascinated in magic. Her mother was a sorceress herself, albeit not a very strong one. She had a small amount of spellbooks and allowed her young daughters to read them. Udonna's talent had manifested early, but it was her older sister Niella who had been stronger, even if a bit clumsy like Clare. Udonna had always been jealous of her, until after the Great Battle. Then she has finally understood that with great power comes great responsibility.

'There you are,' she thought as she finally found the book needed. It wasn't really a book; it was her old journal containing the notes she's taken during her apprenticeship. She flipped it open, looking for the detailed instructions of treatment. There weren't only her notes – the journal sometimes served her as a diary, but she quickly skipped through these parts. Too many memories came to life when she saw them. Her young, naïve self has been writing about the happiness that newly-born Bowen had brought into her life. Now Udonna couldn't stand to think about her son; yes, he was alive, but where? Has someone found him? Was he happy?

She shook her head. She needed to concentrate on the notes, not to torture herself with the past. She finally found the instructions, so she sat on a nearby chair and started reading.

Udonna was halfway through the note when suddenly Clare ran into the room, panting heavily.

"Udonna! I heard some moans coming from Koragg's room, but the door won't open! What should we do?"

The White Sorceress looked at the clock. "We'll go in there in ten minutes. Now relax. Everything's under control."

Clare perched on the edge of a chair and stared at Udonna as though she was insane. "B-but what if The Master is trying to do something to him again? Or maybe he's fallen off the bed? We have to check on him!"

Udonna explained her plan to her apprentice.

"Oh... but isn't that a bit... cruel? I mean, that's just..."

"Trust me, Clare. I didn't want to do this, but sometimes pain is the best teacher, especially to someone as stubborn as Koragg. I want him to understand that we're doing our best to help him," she interrupted Clare, not wanting to give her any crazy ideas.

Her apprentice looked thoughtful. "I guess that makes sense..." She flinched when Koragg's muffled scream echoed through Rootcore. "Ahh, I can't stand this! Please, can we go to him now?"

There were still at least five minutes to go, but Udonna was also getting nervous about him. She got up.

"Alright, let's go."

She grabbed the potions and headed towards Koragg's room.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When the door closed after the White Sorceress, Koragg finally allowed himself to let out a pained groan. He didn't want to appear weak in front of her. Yes, his leg was hurting more and more each minute, but he could live with it. There was no need for any potions, especially these vile ones from the witch. She seemed to think that after an hour he would beg her for the elixirs. Ha! Koragg was a prideful warrior, not a grovelling underdog. There was no way he would ask her to give him these poisons!

The time seemed to be running slower and slower as the pain intensified. Soon Koragg's breath became shallow. He fought to think about something, anything else than the worsening pain, but to no avail. His entire world focused on the burning sensation in his thigh. He didn't even realize that he was clenching his fists. Now he wasn't even able to stop the moans from escaping his mouth.

For a moment the door handle seemed to rattle, but it could have been only his imagination. Everything was blurry in front of him anyway.

Just when he thought the pain couldn't get worse, it slammed into him with frightening force. A scream wrenched itself from his mouth, then another. Now Koragg was gasping for the air as if he was suffocating. Only one coherent thought was running through his head: 'Make it stop!'

Suddenly a voice sounded somewhere next to him. "You just have to ask. Nothing more. The pain will stop, I promise."

He wanted the agony to be gone, so he managed to rasp out between the gasps:

"Please..."

After a second (or was it an hour?) something cold touched his lips and he intuitively opened his mouth. A disgusting liquid slid down his throat and he almost choked on it, but managed to drink everything.

Slowly the agony started to fade into a dull ache. World around him came into focus once again. The first thing he noticed was the White Sorceress' grimly satisfied face, looking down at him.

* * *

To be truthful, Udonna didn't expect Koragg to give up so easily, but she must have underestimated the sheer force of the pain he was experiencing. His body was still trembling and he was breathing unevenly. That didn't stop him from speaking up.

"You've... come to... gloat, am I... right?"

Udonna sighed. 'He's impossible.' "No. As a matter of fact, I'm not feeling very victorious. It's disappointing that I had to go as far as to cause you so much pain."

Koragg seemed to be breathing more easily and his body finally stopped trembling. His next words shocked Udonna.

"I was mistaken about you. Now I can see you've been trying to help me." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally forced out: "I... apologise."

The White Sorceress smiled. They were at last getting somewhere.

"Apology accepted. I'm glad you came to your senses."

He was silent for a moment as if thinking about something.

"Then what is the reason I'm so weak?"

Earlier Udonna has been wondering what Koragg had meant by accusing them of weakening him. It was natural to feel a bit weak after receiving such serious wounds, after all. Wasn't he aware of that? Now was the perfect moment to ask him.

"It's normal to feel weak in your condition. Don't you know that?"

"Of course I know! But usually it takes me no more than a few hours to heal. Now it's almost a day since I was attacked and nothing is happening! I don't feel any different! My shoulder is alright only because you healed it," Koragg said, despair slipping into his voice.

She's never thought she would see him in such a state. He sounded lost, as if he was asking someone to explain what was happening. Despite all the things he's done, Udonna felt sorry for him.

Suddenly a possible explanation presented itself to her. Could it be?

"Koragg, I need you to focus now. I have a few questions," she said determinedly.

When he nodded, she asked her first question: "Have you ever needed to eat?"

"Not until now," he answered.

"And what about sleeping? Was there a time when you felt tired?"

"I don't think so."

Her suspicion was proving to be true. Something has been sustaining Koragg before he came to Rootcore. But what could it possibly be? She looked at him, trying to understand.

"Maybe it's somehow connected to his armor?" Udonna spun around. She completely forgot that Clare was there.

"How so?" Udonna asked, not sure what did her apprentice have in mind.

"Well, do you remember what he said yesterday? He's never taken off his armor. Maybe there was a spell on it! And now that The Master has abandoned him, the spell is lifted."

Udonna could have slapped herself. Of course!

"Excellent thinking, Clare. I couldn't have put it better myself."

Her apprentice grinned, beaming with pride. Praises from Udonna were very rare, but it made them even more satisfying.

"Do you want to tell me that the state I'm in is how it should have been through all my life?" Koragg asked with disbelief.

Udonna almost laughed at the shock in his voice. "Yes. Believe it or not, but you're a human, Koragg, just like we are."

* * *

A human.

Koragg was a human.

His thoughts were in disarray and for a moment he was somewhere else – a garden filled with all sorts of flowers, herbs and other various plants. He looked down on his hands - or rather the little human he was holding. It was pinkish and not very pretty, but it caused a weird warmth in his chest.

As soon as the memory started, it vanished, leaving Koragg dumbfounded. What was _that_? And where did it come from?

"Koragg, are you alright?" the witch interrupted his thoughts.

He managed to nod slightly.

She spoke up again. "Now that we have sorted it out, I want to start healing your leg. The sooner I do it, the better for you."

The witch removed bandages from his thigh and tossed them aside. Then she waved her wand over his leg in a complicated motion and murmured something. He gasped as numbness started to spread over his limb. He felt absolutely nothing. He looked down to make sure his leg was still there.

"What is this? Why can't I feel anything?"

She didn't look at him when she answered. "Local anesthetic."

Local _what_?

'Doesn't matter.' He had more important things to think about. He ignored the activities going on around him and closed his eyes.

The memory was still fresh in his mind. The little human disturbed him. There was something about it that made him feel... good. He didn't know any other words to describe this feeling. The garden looked like someplace he should know very well, but he didn't. Now that he thought about the memory, he noticed something even more disturbing than the little human.

He wasn't wearing his armor.

He could actually see his hands without the gloves. They were strong and calloused, probably from intense training. He moved the fingers of his left hand. Did they look the same now? Yet again he found himself wishing the glove was removed. Even more – he wanted the entire armor to be gone. His curiosity was getting stronger. It was hard to imagine what could he look like. People were similar to each other – they had eyes, noses, mouths and ears, two arms and two legs. Even then they managed to look different. Were his eyes a greenish sort of blue like the Sorceress', or maybe brown like Solaris'? What about his hair? Maybe he _didn't_ have hair? But no, he was sure he had hair.

There were just so many things to find out about himself. Koragg decided to ask the witch to remove his armor after she was done with his leg.

He cracked one eye open. The girl (wasn't her name Niella?) was reading aloud from a small book and the Sorceress was listening to her with her eyes narrowed in concentration. The words didn't make sense to him; it was some medical gibberish, but the witch seemed to understand. All in all, it wasn't worth his attention, so he closed his eye and went back to the mysterious memory.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Udonna had to give Koragg a second Blood Replenishing Potion, because the now reopened wound was bleeding profusely. The hardest part wasn't rotating the thigh bone to the right angle – the problem lay in reconnecting blood vessels. It was a very complicated process and Udonna wondered how would the non-magical people fix this. Even with magic it was impossible to completely heal this kind of injury. Koragg would probably never fight again, at least not in conventional way. She should be happy about this, but it was a very sad fate to someone whose life was focused on fighting.

She was thankful that Koragg was silent, almost abnormally so. He didn't move either. 'Maybe he's fallen asleep? Well, I'm not complaining.'

After two hours Udonna was finally done with operation. She examined her work closely. The edges of wound were held together by magic, creating a red jagged line on pale skin. Now it needed to be bandaged, so she asked Clare for help. When that was done she allowed herself to relax a bit and slumped into the chair. She observed Koragg through half-closed eyes. He still seemed to be asleep, so she almost jumped when he spoke up.

"How did it go?"

Why did he always have to do this? Udonna sighed and answered. "It was difficult, but I think you'll be alright. Remember that it's just the start of your recovery. Don't expect any wonders. You won't be able to walk for at least a week." She decided not to tell him about not being able to fight.

Koragg frowned, clearly not satisfied. "Why does it have to be so long?"

"The most of this curse's victims weren't able to walk after _a month_, so you should consider yourself lucky. Your healing is still extraordinarily fast, even without The Master's spell."

"That reminds me. I want you to take my armor off." Koragg had the most infuriating ability to jump from one subject to another without even realizing it. It made his request (or rather a command) even more surprising.

Clare spoke up from somewhere behind her. "But yesterday you said you didn't want to take it off! What made you change your decision all of sudden?"

He was silent for a moment. Then he simply said: "It's uncomfortable."

Her apprentice looked as stumped as she felt. _That_ was his reason?

"Oh well. I must fix your broken forearm and it's partially covered by your armor, so I might remove it all as well."

She stood up and took her wand once again. 'Which spell should I use? Hmm... there is one designed to quickly take off all clothing, but...' She nearly blushed at one specific memory connected to this spell, but she shook it off. 'Well, it won't hurt to try.'

His armor rattled a bit, but remained intact. Every other spell had the same results. Was she doing something wrong?

"What is it, Udonna? Why aren't your spells working?" Clare asked, apparently as confused as she was.

Then Udonna realized what caused this to happen. How could she have been so stupid? Now that she noticed this, it was like a big bright flashing sign.

Tendrils of dark magic were wrapped around pieces of Koragg's armor, deflecting any spell she cast at him. It was subtle enough not to trigger any alarms in Rootcore, even the crystal ball. Udonna hated to admit this, but it was an amazingly complicated spell. It would take her quite a bit of time to figure out how to counter it. She looked at Clare.

"Come and see for yourself. Notice how complex this spell is."

Her apprentice's eyes widened. "Wow... no wonder your spells didn't work. Someone must have spent a lot of time creating this."

"Not if that 'someone' is The Master. He's a very powerful magician."

Koragg must have finally gotten irritated with their talking, because he cut in:

"So _can_ you remove my armor?"

Udonna decided that she was probably the most patient person on the whole planet. It was beyond her how she hadn't snapped at him yet. The man was unbelievably infuriating.

"I think I would be able to do this. I just have to study this spell further and find out how exactly it works. It is possible that certain types of magic can pass through it."

She sat next to him and put her hands on a piece of armor covering Koragg's chest.

"What are you doing?" came his surprisingly weak voice.

"Physical contact with the source of spell gives the best results. Now don't interrupt me."

* * *

Even though he couldn't feel her touch, it seemed to Koragg that it _burned. _Breathing suddenly became unexpectedly hard. What was happening to him? Could it be that the witch's presence affected him in such a way? He's been having those weird flashbacks anytime she was around now. The first was with him holding a little human. The second was even more confusing.

_He was in a forest. Next to him was the last person he wanted to see at the moment – Solaris Knight. Their wrists were linked together with a rope and they both had swords in their hands. But it didn't feel like a real fight – it was closer to a training. Of course, Koragg had the upper hand and soon his opponent was lying on the ground without his sword. Oddly enough, this victory didn't satisfy him. _

_"What did I tell you about holding the sword right? Your grip on it is too weak. Just look at how easily I've disarmed you." His voice was weird. It sounded younger, lighter than usual._

_His body seemed to move on its own accord. He offered his hand to Solaris, who was still on the ground and looking annoyed. When he was finally on his legs, they took off the rope connecting their wrists. _

_"Admit it, you just like seeing me defeated," Solaris grumbled._

_Koragg really wanted to agree with him, but Memory-Koragg seemed to have other ideas._

_"Daggeron, I'm not trying to embarrass you. Your skills simply must be as good as mine if you want to become a Knight. And enough of your moping. I bet Udonna is going to rip our heads off if we don't come home before it's dark."_

With that, the memory ended. Koragg couldn't believe that it ever happened. Did it mean he knew Solaris before? And why was he training him and being overall _nice_? Then there was something else. Not only he knew Solaris, but also the witch. When he fought with her for the first time, she also seemed to think he was familiar. She could tell him who he really was.

Right now her hands were still on his chest. The burning feeling he got earlier has lessened to comforting warmth, which was quite ironic considering that she was the _White_ Sorceress. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be deeply concentrated. He'll ask her later. For now he only wanted the armor to be gone.

* * *

Udonna concluded that the spell on Koragg's armor was very vulnerable to especially destructive types of fire magic. She knew that only Nick would be able to do this. Getting him to cooperate was going to be difficult. Udonna was in constant fear that he would suddenly decide to leave them. He was the most unstable person among the Rangers. She could only hope he was aware of how important he is to them.

She stood up and adressed Koragg.

"I have a solution to your problem. Nick can get past the spell with his fire magic."

He scoffed. "The Red Ranger? What makes you think he would help me?"

"Don't worry, I have a plan. Just be nice to him when he comes here, alright?" Udonna knew he probably wouldn't even try to be polite, but it didn't hurt to ask. Maybe he would listen to her.

"As long as he is too. Oh, and there's something I want to ask you." Yet again Koragg showed his ability to change the topic out of nowhere. She mentally braced herself, knowing that his questions were almost always shocking.

"Did we meet before?"

Well, this wasn't actually so surprising. She expected worse.

"It depends on when was this 'before' you speak of. I certainly don't seem to remember meeting you before our first fight, but..." she stopped for a moment, not sure what she wanted to say.

"But?" he cut in.

"You remind me of someone I knew, but I can't tell who might that be. And why do you ask? Am I familiar to you too?"

Koragg was silent for a moment. "I've been having these odd... flashbacks recently. In one of them, I was training with Solaris. After the training ended, I said something about going back home (whatever this is) before it got dark, because you would get angry at us. It must mean that I knew not only you, but Solaris too. Do you know who might I be?"

Udonna froze, not sure if she'd heard correctly. Koragg was training with Daggeron? She tried to remember who was he training with before he became a Knight. Leanbow, of course, but who else? With growing trepidation she realized that Daggeron trained _only_ with her husband. She had to make sure Koragg wasn't mistaken.

"Are you sure this memory is real? Maybe The Master is trying to delude you?"

He scowled. "Are you trying to imply I've lost my sanity? Of course it's real!"

No. This had to be some sort of joke. It was impossible that Koragg was her long-lost husband.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Clare decided to exit the room when Udonna started analysing the spell on Koragg's armor. She had tried doing something similar once and knew that losing concentration was the worst thing that could happen.

She took Udonna's journal with her, because they didn't need it anymore. Sometimes Clare read them and each time their contents were weird. Sure, there was a lot of useful information, but there was also an awful lot of blank spaces between notes. Clare suspected that Udonna didn't want her to see some parts of journals. She didn't mind, really. Maybe it was something personal.

When she got to the main room, she saw Nick. He noticed her and said:

"Finally! I thought there was no one here."

"Well, Udonna and I spent a lot of time in Koragg's room. We managed to fix his leg, you know? Okay, it was Udonna who did it, but I was helping her." She noticed that at the mention of Koragg, Nick scowled in annoyance, so she quickly changed the topic. "Uhh, and what brings you here?"

He plopped down on the nearest chair and crossed his arms. "Did something happen last night? I didn't get any sleep because of these weird magical outbursts."

Clare was very impressed. This kind of magical awareness was typical only to the strongest wizards. Was Nick really so powerful?

"Oh, yes, and it was horrible. The Master attacked Koragg and took away his magic. Udonna and I tried to stop him, but it didn't work and we were really exhausted afterwards. We even fell asleep in his room!"

Nick suddenly looked very interested. "Took away his magic, hmm? Serves him right."

She huffed in irritation. Did he always have to be so nasty? "Hey, actually he's not so bad when you get to know him a little! Maybe he's not very polite, but he deserves to be treated like a normal person."

"Great, another one who is defending him! Can't you all understand? He's been trying to kill us since we met! Why should we help him?"

Suddenly Clare realized something. "Now that I think of it, he never tried to kill any of us. I mean, look at how many chances he had! And yet, he usually just walked away. Don't you think it's strange?"

Nick just laughed. "I'm sure it was all just an act. He can't be trusted." He sighed. "Enough of this. You won't convince me. By the way, where are Daggeron and Udonna?"

Clare was glad about the change of topic. Arguing with Nick was like talking to a wall. "I didn't meet Daggeron today, but he might be training somewhere in forest. Udonna's in Koragg's room. She's analysing the spell on his armor, so you better not go there."

All of sudden a voice sounded from behind her. "In fact, I've just finished."

Clare spun around and saw her mentor. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost.

"What's wrong? Is the spell too hard to break?"

Udonna shook her head. "No, I've found a way. It's good that you're here, Nick. You're the only one who is able to break the spell."

He shrugged at this. "I don't give a shit. For all I care, he can rot in this armor."

"Nick, taking his armor off won't help him a bit, if that's what you're worried about," Udonna said, apparently getting irritated with Nick's behavior.

"So why do you want me to do it? I thought you wanted to help him?"

Something flashed in her eyes. "I have to... see his face."

Clare narrowed her eyes in confusion. Of course, she was also curious about how his face looked like, but Udonna's tone suggested that there was more to it.

Apparently Nick decided to voice her thoughts. "Why is it so important?"

Udonna pursed her lips, but her answer was more or less composed. "I think he may be someone I know."

It seemed like Nick was battling with his thoughts. He fell silent for a moment, but at last he ground out:

"Fine. I'll do it, but don't expect anything else!"

* * *

Nick grasped the concept of magic laser pretty quickly. It required a lot of concentration, because fire magic was hard to tame, especially when it had to be compressed into a small laser beam. Udonna didn't expect that someone as impatient as Nick would be able to master it in such short time. She had to admit he was an impressive wizard.

When the time to lift the spell from Koragg's armor came, Udonna warned Nick:

"I suggest you to be at least polite to him, otherwise you'll end up quarelling and you won't accomplish anything."

He sighed in defeat. "I'll try." She knew that was the best she could count on from him.

Nick looked at her suspiciously. "But you will be there with me? You know, in case something happens?"

Udonna wanted to say 'no'. She didn't think she would be able to keep a calm façade. That, and she was still a little embarrassed after she'd nearly ran out of Koragg's room upon hearing about his memories. Realizing she was quiet for too long, she forced herself to say:

"Of course I will. So, shall we go in?"

He nodded tensely and opened the door to Koragg's room.

* * *

The witch's behavior disconcerted Koragg greatly. Why did she run off like that? Did she forget about something? No answer presented itself to him. And the look she got on her face – almost if she was afraid of something.

These thoughts were still buzzing in his head when the door opened. An unusual sight greeted him. The Red Ranger stood there with his arms crossed. So the Sorceress managed to convince him after all. Behind him were the witch and her apprentice, both looking very nervous.

The Red Ranger approached him and said: "I want to be over with this as quickly as possible, so don't make this hard for me."

For once Koragg agreed with him, so he nodded in approval.

"I should start with his helmet, right?" the Red Ranger asked the witch. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but eventually said:

"No. I still have to heal his right forearm. It's more important." He nodded.

Koragg watched as he took out his morpher and pointed it at the piece of armor covering the forearm. Ranger's eyes narrowed in concentration and suddenly a red thin beam shot out from the tip of his morpher. Sparks started to fly in every direction. Laser effortlessly cut through the layers of his armor.

After some time the Red Ranger was done. He carefully took off the piece of armor and put it aside. Then something unexpected happened. The black glove slowly became grey and cracks appeared on it. Koragg moved his right hand slightly and the material turned into dust, revealing his hand and forearm. He examined it. His hand looked exactly like he has seen it in the memory - strong and calloused from holding the sword. The forearm was bruised and bent at an odd angle.

"How did you do this, Nick?" the witch asked.

His brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know, I didn't even touch his glove. It simply fell apart after I removed that piece of armor."

"I'll have to take a look at this later. Now move aside. Broken limbs are easy to fix, so this won't take long."

She took out her wand and waved it in a wide arch above his forearm. Koragg felt something shift and suddenly his forearm looked normal again. He had to admit that this magic was amazing. Experimentally he moved his whole arm a bit. Everything seemed to be in good condition, but the witch frowned and said:

"It may appear to be healed, but you still should be careful."

Only then Koragg noticed that she was trying not to look at him. Even now she was staring straight ahead. 'This is getting absurd. Am I the only sane person here?' Her apprentice was constantly mumbling and looking at him with weird mixture of fear and curiosity; the Red Ranger appeared just too calm and collected, as opposed to his usual brash behavior. Then there was Solaris, who was just being petty and childish. Koragg was sure they didn't usually behave like this. There was something strange going on and he was determined to find out what it was.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

With each passing minute Udonna was getting more nervous. Instincts told her to run away as quickly as possible, but she ignored them. She _needed_ to see Koragg's face, even if she didn't _want_ to. She only wanted to remain in blissful ignorance. Deep inside she knew it was impossible, but she simply didn't want to get hurt. There was too much pain in her whole life, so now she tried to avoid it.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Nick has already started cutting through the helmet. The desire to run away intensified. Udonna clenched her fists painfully hard, but the pain was welcome now – at least she had something else to focus on. She noticed the worried looks Clare was sending her, so she tried to smile comfortingly, even if she knew that it would look like a grimace.

After a few minutes the noise of metal being cut stopped. Udonna's heart started to beat wildly in anticipation. She didn't even look at Nick when he said:

"Well, here's the moment of truth."

In spite of herself she looked at Koragg just as Nick took off the front of his helmet. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw his face.

It was Leanbow – a bit older than she remembered him, but still as handsome as before. Suddenly she wanted to take him in her arms, to see his smile once again, to-

"So _now_ you want to look at me again, witch?"

Something broke inside her. It was Leanbow's voice, but the words were definitely coming from Koragg. Her husband wasn't there. The man (she couldn't think of him as Koragg anymore) was glaring at her with Leanbow's eyes. Udonna couldn't take that any longer. Her legs moved on their own, taking her to the door and she ran out of the room, finally succumbing to her instincts.

Udonna wasn't sure what happened next. She only remembered running through the forest as everything swimmed in front of her. The trees seemed to laugh at her, their leaves rustling in the wind whispering "coward!" over and over. She wanted them to stop, to simply _shut up _and leave her alone, so she ran faster until_ s_he finally stopped at the edge of a small lake and sat there, curling into a trembling ball. Udonna's control over her magic slowly weakned, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Her mind seemed oddly blank, barely registering the growing coldness.

'I don't care. _I don't care_.'

* * *

The sun was already setting when Daggeron's anger has cooled off at last. It was a long time since he lost his temper like that. He looked around, surprised at how far he'd wandered off. 'I guess I should return to Rootcore. Udonna's probably worried about me.'

Daggeron knew there was a small lake nearby, so he decided to go there and relax a bit first. The gentle wind blowing through the leaves was soothing his strained nerves. It was quite a warm day - perfect for going on a walk – but soon it changed. The closer he got to the lake, the colder it got. At first he didn't think much of it, but when his breath started coming out as white clouds he realized that something was very wrong there. He quickened his pace and after a while he was able to see the lake from behind the trees.

The sight which greeted him made him stop short. It looked as if seasons had rapidly changed during his walk there. The lake's entire surface was frozen to the point of managing to trap some unlucky bird. Daggeron rubbed his arms and looked down. Ground under his feet was covered in frost. Everything around him was white. No, not everything. He squinted and saw a hint of red on the other side of the lake. Suddenly everything clicked.

'Oh, Udonna, what have you done?'

Daggeron quickly covered the distance between them. With growing concern he saw that she seemed to be unaware of her surroundings. She was staring ahead blankly, barely blinking.

"Udonna? Are you alright?" He wanted to slap himself. 'She's just freezed an entire lake! Of course she's not alright, you moron!'

He kneeled down in front of her and shook her shoulder gingerly. There was no response. He noticed Udonna was ice cold and her breath didn't come out in white puffs like his did. That wasn't good. 'Maybe I should talk to her?'

"Hey, what happened? Is it about Koragg?"

Suddenly she flinched and something sparked in her eyes. The next thing he knew, Udonna was in his arms, sobbing miserably. Daggeron gasped at the coldness emanating from her body, but managed to put his arms around her. He whispered comforting words in her ear, not believing them himself. He wanted to calm her down a bit, because at this rate the entire forest would be frozen.

She was muttering incoherently through the sobs. Daggeron tried to understand what was she saying, but only things like "not him" and "I can't" were distinguishable. He simply hugged her thighter, despite the fact he was already shaking from cold. It didn't matter. In that moment Daggeron only wanted to find Koragg and cut his head off. The bastard must have done something truly horrible to upset Udonna so much. It was the first time Daggeron saw her is such a state.

After about ten minutes he decided to put a sleeping charm on Udonna, because it would have taken him a very long time to calm her down. Daggeron lifted up her limp body and directed his steps to Rootcore, determined to find out what happened.

* * *

Nick and Clare's attempts to find Udonna were fruitless. They'd searched through the whole Rootcore and its immediate surroundings, but their mentor was nowhere to be seen. Relucantly they gave up and decided to return to finish their job with Koragg's armor.

Now that the Wolf Knight's helmet was gone, Nick was trying to deal with the fact that yes, Koragg _was_ a human. In addition, he didn't look like some embodiment of all evil. His appearance suggested that he might be in his late forties, but Nick couldn't really be sure. All in all, he wasn't anything special – brown eyes, greying hair and a small amount of wrinkles, giving his face a stern look.

When they finally arrived in Koragg's room, they were met with an instant barrage of questions.

"Where is she? Why did she run out like this?"

'Damn, his voice is so _weird _now_,_' Nick thought.

Apparently noticing Koragg's growing confusion, Clare answered. "She had to... check... some potions! Yeah, that's it!"

He glared at her. "Don't lie to me. Where. Is. She?"

Damn bastard. "And why the hell do you care?"

That was the right question to ask. A myriad of emotions crossed Koragg's face and there was a long silence. Nick smirked.

"So you don't even know why? Pathetic."

Koragg's eyes narrowed into slits and he hissed: "How dare you-"

His next words were drowned by a loud crash coming from downstairs. Nick and Clare exchanged worried glances.

"Let's check it out!"

* * *

Daggeron cursed when he accidentally knocked down two chairs standing in his way. He was tired from carrying Udonna all the way to Rootcore. Now he just wanted to take her to her room.

"Daggeron, what happened?" He looked up. Nick and Clare were running down the stairs.

"Give me a second," Daggeron panted, out of breath. He pointed at the door to Udonna's room. "Open it for me."

He quickly laid her on the bed and left. It was time to answer their question.

"I was returning from my training and decided to relax a bit, so I went to a small lake which was nearby," Daggeron said, putting the overturned chairs to their previous positions. Then he plopped down on one of them. "When I got there, everything was frozen, even the lake. And in the middle of it all sat Udonna, just staring ahead blankly. I tried to get across to her somehow, but she didn't even move. But when I mentioned Koragg, she snapped out of it and... well, I shouldn't tell you, it's not my place to..." Upon seeing their expressions he relucantly said: "Okay, let's just say she got very upset. I couldn't calm her down, so I put a sleeping charm on her and brought her here. Now tell me: what happened to upset her so much?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's because we've finally seen Koragg's face," Nick told him.

Daggeron was astonished. "You managed to take his helmet off? That's amazing!"

Nick simply shrugged. "It wasn't so difficult, really. Just a bit of magic laser and it was done."

Clare rolled her eyes at Nick's display of modesty. "Well, anyway, when Udonna saw his face, she looked really shocked, but also... happy, I think. And then Koragg, being himself, said something nasty to her. But, you know, it wasn't really _that_ nasty, yet Udonna's expression went blank, just like her emotions suddenly shut off. Soon after that she ran out of the room. We tried to find her, but we couldn't."

Daggeron sighed and stood up. "I suppose I should take a look at him."

He tried to ignore the gnawing suspiction which appeared inside his head.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The door slammed noisily. Irritation spiked in Korrag's head. 'Stupid brats won't even tell me a thing! They're just running back and forth!' Then there was the witch. Why was she behaving like that? First she seemed happy to see his face, but then she looked like someone'd slapped her. Koragg was sure his words couldn't have that much impact on her. So was there something wrong with his appearance? He sighed, disgruntled with being kept in the dark all the time. 'Too many questions, too little answers. The next person that comes here will tell me everything, whether they like it or not.'

Korrag scratched his jaw absent-mindedly, feeling the little hairs prickle his hand. He really wanted to know what did he look like, but there was nothing he could use to look at himself. 'I must tell them to bring me... what is it called? Mere? No... something else... ah, that's it. A mirror.' His inability to remember even the simplest words annoyed him. For example, he still didn't know what was the thing he was lying on called.

The sound of footsteps coming closer drew his attention. That was it. He would finally get some answers. Koragg just wished it was the witch, not that bastard Solaris or Red Ranger.

When the door opened, Koragg decided that the Fates must hate him. He scowled at Solaris, who seemed surprised for some reason. It didn't matter. Koragg could probably get better answers from him.

But before he could open his mouth to say something, Solaris breathed out:

"Leanbow?"

That made Korrag knit his brows in confusion. 'Yet another person speaking about this Leanbow. Who the hell is he?'

Solaris made a few steps in his direction and stopped in front of him. "Is that really you? I can't believe..." He suddenly snorted and glared at him. "Of course you're not Leanbow." He grabbed the front of Korrag's armor and pulled him to eye level. "How dare you, you fucking bastard! Do you think you can fool me?! And don't give me that look!"

Hot fury erupted inside Korrag. He grabbed Solaris' shirt in a vice-like grip, hissing at the sudden pain in his forearm. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't even know who is this whole Leanbow, so stop your pathetic barking!"

The Red Ranger appeared out of nowhere, trying to pull them apart. "Calm... down... both of you!" With a mighty yank Solaris let go of him and stumbled back, almost crashing into the door. He glared at Korrag and snarled furiously:

"You don't know who Leanbow is, huh? So maybe I should show you?"

With a snap of his fingers a small mirror appeared in front of Korrag's face. The person looking back at him triggered an onslaught of memories. Images flew before him, all of them focused on one face – younger, older, but still the same. Then everything became clear.

'This is Leanbow. This is me. But I am Korrag. Or am I Leanbow?'

Slowly the mirror drifted away. "So? Does this ring any bells?"

Before he had a chance to answer, that Niella girl decided to speak. "Give him a break, Daggeron! Just look how confused he is. Do you really think this is some kind of twisted scheme?" She turned to Korrag. "Say, what do you know about Leanbow?"

"Nothing," he answered automatically. But then he remembered about the recent flashbacks. If it hapened to him, then it must have happened to Leanbow. "Take that back. Did the witch tell you about my flashbacks?"

From their confused faces he concluded that she didn't. "In one of them I was training with you, Solaris – told you something about holding the sword right. Then I said we must return before it got dark. Now I know that this memory belongs to Leanbow."

All traces of anger vanished from Solaris' face. Something flashed in his eyes, almost like hope. Korrag didn't know how he was able to tell – previously human emotions were a mystery to him, apart from the negative ones. He knew pain, anger and fear, but something like love or hope? These were only empty, meaningless words, used by weak humans. 'I'm one of them now – I'm a human too. It shouldn't surprise me, and yet it does.'

Solaris finally seemed to be able to speak, but the anger didn't come back. Instead his he became cautious. "Yes, that's what happened. But I still don't believe you. After all, you had a great source of information about our past. I bet Calindor told you a lot of stories of his _fantastic_ time spent with us."

"That treacherous scoundrel Imperious? No one in their right mind would listen to the filth coming from him. You can trust me on this, Solaris: I may dislike you, but you're nothing compared to him. Traitors like him are the worst kind of people - they only deserve to be hated."

* * *

Korrag's words struck a chord in Daggeron. It was something his mentor could say. Now that he thought about it, Korrag's whole behavior was very similar to Leanbow's – the honorable way of fighting and almost perfect control over emotions during battles being his most prominent characteristics. There were also other, more subtle things about him: he certainly hated Morticon and Imperious, even if they were technically his allies. But what surprised Daggeron even more was that Korrag seemed to trust Udonna. There was no reason for the Wolf Knight to do that – she was his enemy, after all.

'Then why? What is the reason for his behavior?' The most obvious answer was the most unbelievable – of course Korrag couldn't be Leanbow. 'I need more time to think about this.'

"Watch over him for now. I have to leave," he told Clare, who nodded in answer. Then he turned to Korrag. "As for you – don't try to do anything stupid. Be assured that our little talk isn't over." He heard an annoyed huff in response, but he paid it no mind. Instead he opened the door and left the room, making his way to the upper levels of Rootcore – this way he was sure nobody would disturb him.

* * *

"Well, I suppose I should finish my job," Nick said, walking up to Korrag's bed and sitting on a chair next to it. He took out his morpher and looked at Korrag questioningly. "What part do you want me to remove now?"

He held up his left arm without saying anything, which seemed to be alright with Nick. Soon he set to work.

Clare noticed Korrag was looking at her from time to time like he wanted to ask her something. After a while he finally decided to speak.

"Do you know anything about Leanbow?"

She pondered over his question. Sometimes Udonna accidentally let something slip, but it didn't happen often, so Clare's knowledge wasn't very big. "I can't tell you much, because I don't know a lot about him. From what Udonna has told me, Leanbow has played a great role in defeating the forces of evil nineteen years ago, but in order to do that he had to sacrifice his life. " She noticed that Nick was also listening to her attentively. "Apart from that... I think he and Udonna were good friends. He was also a very powerful wizard and warrior. And that's about all I know."

From Korrag's slightly disappointed expression she could tell her answer didn't satisfy him. 'Well, I did my best! It's not my fault Udonna is so secretive.' Nick simply returned to his work.

Soon the armor covering Korrag's left forearm was gone, as well as the material underneath it, which turned into dust. After a bit of consultation between him and Nick it was decided that the heavy boots were to be removed next.

Clare was growing bored with the process. It was totally silent except for the sound of metal being cut, which wasn't really interesting. She looked out the window. The sky was already black, but the moon was full, giving everything an eerie appearance. Clare stifled a yawn – being bored always made her sleepy.

She must have fallen asleep, because out of nowhere she saw Nick in front of her, shaking her shoulder. She rubbed her eyes. "Are you done?"

"I took off his boots, but rest has to wait for tomorrow. It's too late now and I think he's fallen asleep."

"Oh, okay. I guess you should go now," Clare said, rising from the chair and stretching her arms.

Nick nodded and opened the door. "See you tomorrow."

Clare waved to him tiredly and he left. She took one last look at Korrag. Now that he was asleep, his face didn't seem so stern. He looked almost peaceful in the pale moonlight streaming through the window.

'How can someone think this man is evil?' she asked herself drowsily, heading to her room.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

She was in some nondescript place in the middle of forest. For some reason she was in ranger form - even her Snow Staff was there. Everything else seemed normal, yet Udonna was sure someone was watching her. Slowly she turned around.

Before her stood Leanbow, exactly like she remembered him. But there was something deeply disturbing about him – his eyes were emotionless, as well as his face. She waited for him to do something, not trusting herself enough to speak.

"Finally we can decide who's stronger, witch."

Her eyes widened. The voice didn't belong to Leanbow – it was Korrag's heavy, harsh voice. Suddenly a sword materialised in the man's hand. He pointed it at her.

"Prepare yourself."

Udonna barely had the time to raise her Snow Staff to protect herself from a deadly slash of his weapon. Before she could do anything, he attacked her from the left, but she managed to dodge it. Udonna knew it was impossible for her to win. Her every spell was being interrupted by him. She was never good at close combat – she prefered using magic or long-distance weapons. The only thing she was able to do now was to defend herself from an onslaught of strikes.

Her resistance didn't last long. With a particularly strong hit her weapon was knocked out of her hand. Her back collided with a tree. There was no way to escape. He was going to kill her.

"Any last words?" he asked, his face still emotionless.

"Drop your sword!"

They simultaneously turned their heads. Udonna couldn't believe what was she seeing. Korrag was standing there, his sword raised. Leanbow backed away from her and turned to him instead.

Korrag took a careful step towards her, yet still watching Leanbow. "Who sent you?"

Udonna could only shake her head in disbelief. Korrag's voice sounded exactly like Leanbow's - the real Leanbow, not the impostor.

"It is none of your concern. Do you want to fight with me too?"

Korrag sheathed his sword. "No. You don't have any armor or a shield. This fight would be unfair. I am letting you go now, but when we meet again, I won't be so indulgent."

"I hope so," the impostor said. He muttered something and a dark magic circle appeared under him. After a moment he was gone.

She sighed and let herself slide down to the ground. Unwittingly she looked at her hands. They were not what she was used to see. Instead of forty four year old woman's hands, these clearly belonged to someone at least twenty years younger. She didn't have time to observe them better, because something distracted her from them. Korrag had already put his shield and sword away and was currently sitting in front of her.

"What on earth are you doing here? How many times have I told you not to go to the forest alone? You know how dangerous it is here. That man was surely The Master's servant. You could have died, Udonna!" He dropped his head and sighed. "Do you realise how worried I was? Please, don't do that again. If you need something from the forest, you can send me or Daggeron. Are you even listening to me, Udonna? Udonna?"

She couldn't utter a word in response. Why was Leanbow attacking her? Why did Korrag defend her? It was like they swapped places. Their images in her mind were overlapping each other and becoming one man who was neither Leanbow, nor Korrag – just a weird mix of them.

He stood up and offered her his hand. "Okay, let's just go home. I'm sure Bowen misses you already."

Bowen.

That was too much for Udonna. Edges of the forest started to vanish and soon everything went black.

Then she woke up.

* * *

The door's loud creaking woke Korrag up. He didn't open his eyes yet. Instead he focused on the noises made by his night visitor. Their footsteps were light, barely audible. He heard the person draw a shaky breath. After a while his curiosity forced him to crack one eye open just the slightest bit.

In the pale moonlight he saw the White Sorceress sitting in a chair next to him. She had her head in her hands and her shoulders were shaking. He wasn't sure what it meant, but somehow he knew she was sad. He squashed down the strangest urge to take her hand.

Korrag quickly closed his eye when she moved. For a moment he heard nothing. Suddenly he felt a light touch on his cheek. He fought hard not to lean in to the touch, but to no avail. The witch emitted a strange sound between a chuckle and gasp and ran her fingers through his hair. 'Why does it feel so good?' he wondered, utterly amazed. He was sure she didn't know he wasn't asleep, but this time he didn't react - just to be cautious.

"Just give me a sign if you're here, Leanbow... that's all I ask for. Nothing more," she whispered in his ear.

Then something inside him jerked and he felt like there was another person occupying his body. It was an angry, almost furious presence – Korrag was sure that in that moment it wanted to kill him. There was also another strong emotion coming from that person, but it wasn't directed at him – its attention was focused on the witch. Korrag had never felt something like that before.

_Let me out!_

Somehow he managed to keep a straight face – he didn't want the witch to find out he wasn't sleeping.

_Don't ignore me! Let me out, Korrag!_

'Who are you? What are you doing in my body?' he thought at the presence.

_This is not your body – it's ours. And if you're not going to let me out, at least try to comfort Udonna! I know you feel the same about her as I do!_

'Why should I do that? I hate her! I don't care what happens to her.'

He felt rather than heard a bitter laugh in his mind. _Keep deluding yourself, Korrag. You might not be aware of this, but we're two pieces of the same soul, if you might call it that – the only difference between us is that you are still under The Master's spell._

Confusion shot through Korrag. 'What are you talking about? No one is controlling me, that's impossible!'

_Tell me, how often do find yourself confused about what's happening around you? Or maybe another question: what do you remember about the time before you started to serve The Master?_

Korrag focused hard. Was there even a time before his service to The Master? He'd always assumed that The Master had created him.

_Wrong answer. What about that memory of you training with Daggeron? Yes, it's Leanbow's memory, but we _are _Leanbow. You and I are pieces of his soul, which was split by The Master. If we won't become one, that emptiness inside you will never disappear. You'll be forever incomplete._

'I will do nothing like this! I am Korrag, not Leanbow! You're only a product of my imagination! Just disappear already!'

With a powerful mental push from Korrag the annoying voice was gone. When he looked around, he realised that the witch was also gone.

'Good riddance,' he thought just to spite the presence inside his mind, which was surely listening.

* * *

The door she'd just closed seemed to be laughing at her. 'Of course it does, you fool. Who wouldn't laugh at you now, Udonna?' she thought scathingly. She was so stupid. Why did she go in there in first place? It seemed like a good idea ten minutes ago, but now? She was just glad he was asleep, because then he would think she was a stalker.

Udonna was well aware that there would be no more sleep for her tonight. It wasn't unusual – she had nightmares frequently. They'd been getting progressively worse since the Xenotome had chosen the next Mystic Warriors. She was sure that these nightmares had already covered every possible death scenario for all Rangers.

Her desperate need to calm her mind had directed her steps to the highest point in Rootcore. It was a balcony surrounded with giant leaves, making it an ideal spot to relax after a long, hard day. She'd hoped it was empty, but apparently Daggeron had the same idea.

He was sitting on a bench and drinking something. Udonna had a sneaking suspicion that the contents of his glass were _a bit _stronger than his favorite orange juice, so she walked up to him and took it out of his hand.

"Daggeron, half past one in the morning isn't the time to get drunk."

Just as she predicted, he jumped and turned around to see her.

"Oh, come on, I've just started! At least let me finish this one glass!" Suddenly he went quiet and blinked in confusion. "Wait a second. What are you doing here?" His expression became worried and he stood up. "Is everything alright?"

Udonna walked up to the railing and leaned on it, staring at the forest bathed in the moonlight. After a while Daggeron joined her and put an arm around her. She was grateful for the comfort he gave her. It was one of the reasons she missed Leanbow so much. During these nineteen years of fragile peace there was no one who could really understand her pain. Her family was dead and she never told Clare much about her past.

"Udonna... I know this is hard for you – hell, it's certainly hard for me – but we must focus on what's truly important. We need to set our feelings aside for now."

She let out a bitter chuckle. "We could say whatever we want, but what will we really do? If it was so easy to forget about our past, then it wouldn't be a problem. And in response to your earlier question: no, I'm not alright - I will never be. Too much has happened."

Daggeron said nothing – he didn't need to. Udonna knew he was just as broken as her. They fell into a comfortable silence, born of mutual understanding of each other's problems. There was one thing that went unspoken between them: Imperious was never going to get their _guest –_ no matter if he was Korrag or Leanbow.


End file.
